Furman fires tenured professor photographed at Charlottesville rally

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A Furman University professor who was photographed at the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. has been fired.

Chris Healy, a tenured professor of computer science, was suspended in 2022 after photos surfaced of him standing in a crowd of people brandishing symbols of white supremacy like a large swastika flag and a tattoo of the SS bolts of Nazi Germany.

Furman President Elizabeth Davis launched an immediate investigation when she learned Healy was at the rally five years earlier, saying the views of the Unite the Right organizers conflicted with the university’s values of equality and inclusion.

“They are harmful to members of our community, diminish a sense of belonging, and inhibit each individual’s opportunity to thrive,” Davis wrote in a message to the campus community.

Healy said he went to the rally to oppose the removal of a monument for Confederate General Robert E. Lee. We asked what Healy’s reaction was to the hate symbols seen around him in the photo. His attorney said Healy was “uncomfortable” with the crowd that showed up.

“My client had a very negative reaction to the entire event,” Healy’s attorney Stephen Brown told FOX Carolina in December 2022. “He was particularly disturbed seeing the swastika banner because it has nothing to do with General Lee and only serves to discredit the message he was there to convey.”

He says Healy left before self-proclaimed neo-Nazi James Fields crashed a car into a group of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens more.

After Healy was suspended, he requested a due process hearing, saying as a tenured faculty member, Furman needed to show “adequate cause” for his removal. According to court filings in May, the hearing committee issued a written decision saying there was not enough evidence to support discharging Healy, but Furman’s administration rejected the recommendation.

Healy was fired on April 4.

A spokesperson for Furman University released the following statement: “As this is a personnel matter and the subject of ongoing litigation, Furman is not providing additional details or commenting further.”

A lawsuit Healy filed against Furman is still pending, although he has requested to amend the complaint to add accusations of defamation and wrongful termination.

Stay with FOX Carolina for updates on this developing story.

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